good morning. the vatican has announced the death of pope benedict xvi at the age of 95. his health had been worsening in recent weeks. benedict served as head of the roman catholic church for eight years until 2013, when he became the first pope in 600 years to announce his retirement. he was german by birth, and was known for his conservative theological outlook. vatican spokesman, matteo bruni, said in a statement. bells tolling this was the moment of the confirmation of his death in rome, you can hear the bells ringing in st peter s square in vatican city. the vatican says pope benedict s body will lie in state from monday in st peter s basilica. let s go straight to our europe correspondent, bethany bell. we can see some crowd behind you, how have people reacted to the news of the death of the former pope? we of the death of the former pope? - spoke to one couple from spain who were here in the square as tourists and they said that their tour guide told them the news and
the former pope, benedict xvi, has died at the age of 95. the vatican says he passed away this morning at his residence there. his health had been worsening in recent weeks. benedict served as head of the roman catholic church for eight years until 2013, when he became the first pope in 600 years to announce his retirement. he was german by birth, and was known for his conservative theological outlook. bells tolling this was the moment his death was confirmed in rome. you can hear the bells ringing in st peter s square in vatican city. the vatican says pope benedict s body will lie in state from monday in st peter s basilica, and that pope francis will lead the funeral on january 5th. here s our religon editor, aleem maqbool. cerebral by character, benedict was a prolific author and more at home with scholarship than pastoral work. he led the world s catholics for eight years and then abruptly resigned, the first pope to do so in 600 years. joseph ratzinger was born in southe
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The daily readings are taken from the lectionary which divides much of the Bible into three years worth of readings. If you complete the daily readings each day for three years, you will read 15 percent of the Old Testament and 71 percent of the New Testament.